Tim Watson believes St Kilda’s best decision of the off-season wasn’t trading for All-Australian midfielder Dan Hannebery or bringing in Billy Slater, but the addition of Brett Ratten to their coaching staff.

Ratten will join the Saints as an assistant to coach Alan Richardson, as the club looks to climb the ladder in 2019.

“After what he has been through as a coach as a senior coach at Carlton and then being the lieutenant to Alastair Clarkson at Hawthorn, I think he’s going to be able to bring a lot of stuff there to St Kilda they haven’t had previously.

“I think they’ll play differently, I think they’ll set themselves up differently in attack and defensively as a group.

“And all the other intel he brings from Clarkson because we all recognise him as the best coach in the business right now.”

Garry Lyon questioned whether St Kilda has a playing group capable of maximising any changes made by Ratten.

“Do they have the talent to implement all this magnificent new change?” he said.

Watson doesn’t feel ready to write them off just yet.

“Maybe they have better talent there than what we believe because this time last year we were talking North Melbourne down as a bottom four prospect,” he said.